'My wife saw another side of me!' - Braithwaite baked bread to beat boredom of coronavirus lockdown

Martin Braithwaite says he started baking bread to fight off boredom during the coronavirus lockdown.

The 29-year-old forward joined Barcelona from Leganes in February in an emergency transfer after Luis Suarez suffered a knee injury. The Denmark international made just three appearances for the Catalan side before the campaign was suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the country in lockdown, Braithwaite was able to spend more time with his family and found some new hobbies to keep his mind occupied.

"It is a special scenario. I had the feeling it was some kind of movie because we have never experienced anything like this, so it has been a really special situation for me,” he told Goal. “I try to be positive in the face of negative situations. For me it was important that I could be with my family during this time.

“My wife was pregnant and I was there for my son's birth so there are a lot of positive things to me at the moment. If I have to try to look to the positive things as I always do I can only be grateful.

"I think my wife saw another side of me. I began baking bread and doing stuff I had never done before. Now we are beginning to get back to normal, so I can’t do it anymore!"

La Liga has been cleared to resume this month and Barca will begin with a game against Mallorca on June 13. Quique Setien's team are two points ahead of Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish league with 11 games to go.

Braithwaite is happy to be back in training after such a long hiatus and is eager to start playing for the Spanish champions again.

"I feel good. I have been waiting for this moment for such a long time," he said. "I'm fine working with the team again, it makes me really happy. It makes me wake up every day to do better in football.

"I feel everybody in the team is eager and hungry. I see a lot of players hungry as I am."